Soundwave wandered the empty halls of the Nemesis. He knew he would not find anyone in the Shadowzone, but what else was there for him to do? He had already made several attempts to return to his dimension, and it's not like anyone was going to rescue him. Both Megatron and the war were lost.
He made his way to the bridge, taking a place at the front windows. He wondered how long he would be there for. Eventually, the Autobots would take the Nemesis away to either repurpose or destroy it. What would become of him then? He had no plan. He had always had faith in Megatron. The thought of this happening was a rare occurrence in his mind.
He stared absentmindedly outside, initially focused on the faraway starlight but then focused on his own reflection. Raising a servo to his faceplate, he gently touched its smooth surface. He was almost too entranced to notice the faint glow emanating behind him. As it grew stronger, Soundwave returned his servo to his side. The light grew brighter, casting a greenish blue hue around him. He cautiously turned to view the source.
A small orb, slowly enlarging, hovered near the floor. Soundwave did not know what to make of this. Regardless, he took a step back to assess the situation from a possibly safer distance. The orb began to take on a new shape. It elongated itself, parts of it separating off to mimic limbs. Then came hands, fingers, feet, toes… The essence of hair formed. Instead of individual strands, it was like a sheer material with the ends fading out into nothing. Then face was formed, eyes remaining closed while its glowing blue shell of a body stood unmoving.
Soundwave mirrored the motionless stance. What was this thing before him? It raised its face as though looking back at him. When its eyes opened, he found them to be just as strange as the rest of it. There were no pupils or iris, just one solid color that shown like crystals and matched the rest of the creature's body. Then his vision went black.
Ratchet's pained expression. The smaller, male human's tear-stained face… Raf was it? Glowing Energon. Explosions. The rocky rubble of what was once the Autobot base. These images flooded Soundwave's mind, brief but intense. Staggering back, he attempted to stabilize by leaning on a nearby control panel.
Though it wore no expression, almost as though it couldn't, its stare felt like it a boring a hold straight through him. Pure pain and agony swept though his circuits, but there was a sense it did not belong to him. The creature slowly cocked its head to the side as though it were questioning Soundwave's reaction. It was then he realized he was crushed the control panel in that brief time. Returning his attention to the being, he nodded.
Wandering across Cybertron, the pair reached an unrecognizable city that had been decimated during the war. They traveled the bare streets aimlessly, skirting around fallen, deteriorated buildings, rust eating away at every bit of available metal. Nikki was perched atop Soundwave's shoulder, her head turning curiously at the remnants of structures around them.
Despite her lack of communication, Soundwave still managed to understand her. He could feel when she wanted to send an image to his mind. At these moments, he would stop and wait to see what she wanted, the visions temporarily impairing his optics. He made attempts to respond in a similar fashion but was not always sure if he was successful with her reactions being as minimal as possible. There were times he would feel emotions projected onto him in lieu of visuals he preferred. Interpreting emotion alone was significantly more difficult. It did not suit the stoic, reserved manner Soundwave had kept up for so long. But at least this form of communication proved Nikki still held fast to at least some of her humanity.
Before they realized it, they arrived at the city center. They stood before a large circle surrounded by various corroded statues that had been ripped to the ground, left to rust. In the middle was one large figure that was still erect: Megatron. It was in better condition than the others, but time's neglect was still evident. Soundwave strode somberly towards it, consumed by his own memories while Nikki remained unmoving from her spot. He tilted his helm upwards to view the physical reminder of his former leader.
Neither of them knew how long they had planted themselves there for. A thunderstorm playing out in his mind broke Soundwave from his meditative state. He turned to see Nikki gazing up at the darkened sky above while a roll of thunder illuminated the relative silence. Glancing up for a moment, he ultimately returned to the statue. He knelt before it and stared at the base. Slowly, he reached up to touch his faceplate. His digits paused as they ghosted his barrier against the world. Out of the corner of his optics, he saw Nikki watching him, her head tilted curiously. A small click and his faceplate rested in his palm. He placed it on the statue's base and hesitated momentarily before rising to his feet.
Meeting Nikki's gaze, he nodded, a gesture she returned. Just as the acid rain was beginning to fall, thunder more and more frequent, the two made their way to a nearby building that was intact enough to provide cover. With little else to do, Soundwave settled down and rested his helm back against the wall supporting him with closed optics, the oddly soothing water droplets on metal lulling him to a relaxed state. Though she may not have needed to rest, Nikki shifted on his shoulder so his helm became her pillow. Soundwave stiffened but found himself leaning into it. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Author's Note: Originally Chapter 14 was going to be the final ending but earlier this year my brain randomly decided to keep me up until three in the morning thinking about this. It's the main reason I felt compelled to finally type and post everything. With that said, I hope everything enjoyed the read. As mentioned before, I am pushing this story over to Tumblr (link on my profile). You'll also find any future works at that link. I'll still be around here for any questions you may have. Thank you for reading!